1. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Chapter 5: Sources of American Law PA 101: Welcome to Unit 3!

2. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 “Law, in its generic sense, is a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having binding legal force. That which must be obeyed and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequences is a law.”  Black’s Law Dictionary 5 th ed. What Is Law?

3. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Constitution of the United States  Supreme law of the land  Can render any non-conforming law (state or federal) unenforceable  Broad principles  Amendable  Set the structure of the government  Legislative branch – Congress  Executive branch – the President  Judicial branch – the courts Sources of Law

4. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Anything not specifically enumerated as federal is reserved to the states.  State governments generally mirror the federal structure.  Treaties, agreements between sovereign nations, are part of the law.  Codified law (statutes)  Enacted by Congress (federal) or states  Organized, by topic, into codes  Local governing bodies pass ordinances Sources of Law, cont.

5. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Administrative agencies  Legislative and executive bodies that enforce the law  Promulgate their own law in the form of rules, regulations, and orders  Executive orders  Power expressly delegated to the President by Congress  Judicial decisions  Precedent, interpreting statutes as well as settling disputes  Reported, used to inform later decisions (stare decisis) Sources of Law, cont.

6. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Federal over state, state over local  Constitution and treaties  Statutes  Regulations  Court decisions follow enacted law OR can invalidate it, if it is found to be in violation of a controlling authority (higher level of law). Priority of Law

7. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Hierarchical, with lower courts controlled by higher court decisions, typically:  Supreme court  Intermediate appellate court  Trial court  Promotes uniformity by adhering to previous decisions (similar facts produce similar results)  Can be modified by higher courts if change is warranted Stare Decisis

8. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Creates the structure of the government  Protects individual rights  May be amended to address change  Delegates certain powers to the federal government (federalism)  Enumerated powers authorize the federal government to deal with national and international issues The United States Constitution

9. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Article I – establishes the House of Representatives and Senate  Article II – establishes and outlines the election of President and Vice President  Article III – establishes the Judicial branch in the Supreme Court and allows for the creation of other courts, as necessary Separation of Powers

10. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  The judicial branch reviews the acts of the other branches in regards to the constitutionality of their actions.  The executive branch enters into treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate, and the president has veto power.  The legislature creates courts and determines their jurisdiction, and enacts statutes. Checks and Balances

11. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Art. VI, § 2 asserts the supremacy of the federal Constitution, treaties, federal laws, and regulations over state laws (pre-emption).  What is the supreme law of the land? Supremacy Clause

12. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Art. I, § 8, cl. 3 grants Congress the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with Indian tribes”  Frees up interstate commerce; creates a national market  Includes intrastate (local) commerce that affects interstate commerce  Wickard v. Filburn (No. 59) 43 F.Supp. 1017 Wickard v. Filburn (No. 59) 43 F.Supp. 1017 Commerce Clause

13. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  States retain the power to regulate intrastate and some interstate commerce that occurs within their borders (state police power).  States enact laws that protect or promote:  Public health  Public safety  Public morals  General welfare  Includes environmental, corporation, property, zoning, and domestic relations laws. State Police Power

14. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  The first ten amendments to the Constitution  Guarantees fundamental rights (not absolute)  Freedom of speech  Fully protected speech (political speech)  Limited protected speech (offensive, commercial)  Unprotected speech (dangerous, fighting, defamatory, obscene speech, speech that incites the violent overthrow of the government and child pornography)  Freedom of religion  Prohibits the establishment of a state religion  Permits the exercise of any religion, free from government interference Bill of Rights

15. The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458  Due Process  No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process.  Substantive (fundamental need to know what conduct is prohibited)  Procedural (notice and an opportunity to be heard)  Equal protection  Citizens are entitled to equal protection of the laws  Prohibits discrimination between similarly situated people by the government  Strict scrutiny categories (suspect class, such as race)  Intermediate scrutiny (protected categories, such as gender)  Rational basis (justifiable reason for distinguishing between similarly situated classes, not protected or suspect class) Bill of Rights, cont.

16. Good Night! Contact me at mahmiton@kaplan.edu if you have any questions mahmiton@kaplan.edu